Today we’d like to introduce you to Kayla Snyder.
Hi Kayla, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I graduated from Nossi College of Art with a Bachelor of Graphic Arts in Graphic Design in 2020 but have been pursuing creativity since childhood!
What started as a college internship became a long-term job and I have been working with Becky’s Graphic Design since 2018—a company originally specializing in branding and small print jobs.
The 2020 pandemic transitioned us into a more niche market: assisting authors with full-scope self-publishing services.
I am now an integral part of Becky’s Graphic Design, which is a small, two-person operation. I am the team’s book formatting and eBook specialist. Inventing new automations and streamlining processes are my favorite challenge. The whole Adobe software suite is in my toolbox, but I am highly specialized in Adobe InDesign.
I am also the voice of Becky’s Graphic Design’s growing YouTube Channel, providing InDesign, formatting, and eBook tutorials to over 10k+ subscribers!
Last year, we published our own award-winning book “How to Format a Children’s Book for Self-Publishing,” which educates and guides the reader through the process of self-publishing through Amazon.
Under my freelancing name, The Brand Huntress, I fulfill illustration jobs, generally for children’s books. In my portfolio are full-book illustrations for “The Pony in the Pool House,” “Memphis the Mustang,” “A Horse Divorce,” “Saving Netty,” “Doodle Finds His Family,” and an upcoming comic-style work in The Fruitees series.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The creative fields are difficult to break into; markets are highly competitive and finding a specialized niche is extremely important.
For example, marketing ourselves as a “graphic designers” only got us lost in the myriad of other designers. However, when we switched to “Book Publishing Self-Publishing,” we suddenly had more work than we could handle!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
After nearly a decade of in-depth experience in InDesign, Adobe’s professional layout software, I feel comfortable calling myself an expert.
Unfortunately, very little of this important software was taught in college. I am proud to be known as one of the leading YouTube educators on the subject, sharing free tutorials for both beginner and experienced InDesign users. We boast over 160 videos on the Becky’s Graphic Design channel.
I owe much of my knowledge to the InDesign educators that came before me, such as Nigel French (my hero!). Additionally, all the amazing programmers who have provided help and custom scripts over the years make my workflow immensely efficient. On that list is Kasayan, Thomas Silkjær, Rob Day, Adi Ravid, and my friend Robert Tkaczyk at ID-Tasker.com
My hope is that up-and-coming graphic designers can become proficient in the software much more quickly than I did!
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
As an avid reader my whole life, I have found it fascinating to deep-dive into the publishing and self-publishing industries.
As a child, I recall thinking to myself, “Why can’t I make my Word document look as good as this book from the library?” Well! Now I know!
There is a huge satisfaction in bringing people’s dreams to life. Some of our authors have dreamt of publishing their book since they wrote the manuscript 20 years ago. Today’s self-publishing industry makes this possible where, previously, most authors faced hundreds of publisher rejection letters.
To hold their finished book, professionally-formatted and beautiful, usually brings tears to an author’s eyes!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.BeckysGraphicDesign.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/beckysgraphicdesign
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaylasnydertn
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@beckysgraphicdesign
- Other: www.TheBrandHuntress.com (Illustration Work)
